Mitch Geier and Donald Knause announced their bid for the two open positions on the Plumsted Township Committee. Geier and Knause are running on a campaign slogan of “A Change for the Better” on the Democratic ticket.
“One of our key issues is to gain control of our township’s skyrocketing property taxes”, states Geier. “The Township Committee has been boasting that our property tax rate has not changed. And yet every year our property taxes increase – dramatically! That’s because the ‘tax rate’ is meaningless. In municipalities across this country, tax rates have generally remained stable while taxes have increased drastically due to significant increases in assessed property values as a result of the real estate boom. Fortune magazine’s March issue has an excellent article on this exact issue (A tax upon your house; Fortune, March 31, 2003). This article points out that this feeble economy has forced many families to tighten their belts and make sacrifices, while our municipalities are spending with abandon without providing better services. The Fortune article called property taxes ‘your town’s favorite ATM.’”
Knause states, “We are also committed to developing and implementing a strategic plan for our community. No township can prevent growth and change – but it can be successfully managed. We support a strategic plan that will manage growth and change to the benefit of our community. One of our goals is attract clean businesses that will provide our community with key services and that will also bring in ratable tax dollars to help decrease the amount of property taxes families are now paying. Our current administration has not been business-friendly.
We also believe we must bring sewers into our downtown in order to successfully revitalize our business center. For many years this administration has delayed or grossly mismanaged the issue of sewers. This prevents growth that benefits our community.”
Both Geier and Knause state that they are dedicated to representing every member of the community once in office. “The ‘friends and family’ policy of the current administration is unacceptable”, says Knause. “Providing special treatment to only the privileged and connected is inappropriate. We believe in representing every citizen as if they were friends or family.”
Donald Knause is a 36-year resident of Plumsted Township. Don is a retired investigator for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. He also served on the township committee from 1986 to 1989 and is excited to return to public service now that he is retired.
Mitch Geier has lived in Plumsted Township for since 1999. Mitch is the founder and President of Computer Emergency and Consulting Group (CECG, Inc.), which is the oldest micro-computer consulting firm in the US. Mitch has been active in serving the community for many years. He was the Chair of Citizens for Better Education and on the Board of Hands Across New Jersey while living in Old Bridge.
For additional information, please contact the candidates:
Mitch Geier Donald Knause
609-758-1111 ext. 1 609-758-2076
# # #